Halloween short stories
by israelhusky
Summary: My collection of Halloween short stories first published in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Have fun ! *Update!* A new chapter has been added with my short halloween story for 2015. Thanks for reading!
1. Dinner

**Dinner**

Halloween night, at the exact moment of the evening when light becomes darkness.

"This is it!" Dale exclaimed with happiness as he stepped into the Ranger's HQ. "This is the night! The vampire movie marathon will start soon! Vampires that not sparkle!"

Dale's joy transformed into concern when he noticed that the HQ was completely silent and covered in shadows. So dark, in fact, that he almost falls down the domino steps.

"What the…" said Dale regaining his balance. "Chip? Where are…"

"Im over here, Dale…" Chip whispered from the darkest spot of the living room. Dale was only able to locate his friend when the last ray of light showed his shape. After that, only his red eyes glared in the shadows.

"Chip! Why aren't the lights on? Is this a Halloween joke?"

"Joke? Im not that kind of person, Dale" Chip answered him coldly. "Gadget had a failed experiment and the lights exploded. Don't worry, the TV still works"

"Oh thank goodness." Dale sighed relieved. "So, wanna join me tonight, Chipper?".

"Not right now, later…" Chip answered with an evil grin, too covered in shadows for Dale to notice. "I need to eat first."

"Oh ok…, I'll ask the others." Dale began to walk blindly towards Monty's room, when he felt dizzy for some seconds. He recovered and kept walking in the darkness with a new, strange sensation on his left arm.

Dale felt a doorknob and knocked. "Monty? Wanna watch vampire movies with me? One of them is the classic Mexican movie "El Santo vs los vampiros de Torreon". Mexican vampires!"

A grave voice answered him from inside the room. "right, right, Pally… Let me have some dinner first…"

"ok… I'll be on the living room, don't be late!"

Dale decided to ask Gadget too and started to walk towards the workshop. He then listened a door that opened and closed really fast. He stopped for a second in the darkness. Two pairs of red lights blinked in front of him. And then darkness again; a strange sensation on his both paws; dizziness; weakness.

"its best not to bother Gadget now, Dale…" Monty's voice whispered on his ear.

"Emm… Why?"

"She is concentrated on solving her problem… she will appear later. She needs to eat, anyway."

"Oh… ok then…"

Dale went back to the living room and sat in front of the TV. By now, he was feeling tired, sick and very dizzy. The TV enlightened the HQ behind him. Everything was destroyed, and Dale didn't notice. He had fallen asleep. Then, his friends emerged from the shadows with glowing red eyes. Dinner was served. Dale never was the same again.

The end


	2. Lawhinie's lecture on greed

**Lawhinie's lecture on greed**

 *** 1 ***

"Don't make me laugh! You call that greed? You have no idea, none at all… my mother, who is not among us anymore, was greed made flesh… wanna hear about her?"

Lawhinie leaned against the wall and looked at the agonizing sun through the window. After taking a deep breath, she turned back and started her tale.

"How can I describe her better…? Well, she was as beautiful as me" The female mouse looked at her own reflection on a nearby mirror. "Yeah, I'm her vivid image; although she always preferred her hair made in a single braid, forcing me to help her comb and tie it every morning. I guess that's why now I loathe braids, they are just too troublesome"

A muffled grunt made Lawhinie stop her musing. "All right, all right… enough descriptions. I will just add that… my mother had black eyes, just like you" The female mouse caressed her guest's cheek softly, causing him to blush red.

Delighted, Lawhinie stepped back. "My mother" She continued. "Was a talented tomb raider, you see... because these selfish dead don't have need of jewelry anymore. After she broke up with my father, whoever he was, the two of us traveled all around the world trespassing on cemeteries, crypts, convents and even one pyramid. Little as I was, I often had to crawl first through damp crevices to set the ropes and test the stability of the tunnels"

The female mouse stopped and smirked. "Hey, don't look at me like that! I didn't know she was exploiting me! At that time I was still an innocent girl who just wanted to be useful to her mother… Now, be a nice guy and hand me some water, the real tale is about to start"

Lawhinie took a sip from a nut vase and cleared her throat. "We arrived here almost three years ago, looking for a legendary diamond called 'The tear of Kamehameha'. Human archeologists think it is lost for good, but imagine our surprise when we learned this tribe of brutes…" The mouse glared at the guard on the door. "Were the guardians of it! Hidden in a burrow below the king's hut… oh, and did I mention that females weren't allowed to stay in the presence of the diamond, much less touch it… such %&$%&$!"

The girl took a pause to look through the window at the nearby volcano. "So, we settled and lived among them disguised as refugees and barely tolerated for two full months before we came up with a plan. And what a plan it was! I discovered that the humans at the resort had finally finished to build the pipeline that creates the fake volcano eruption. They intended to make a display every night as grand finale for their folkloric show. 10pm was the daily scheduled hour. If used correctly, that eruption would help us to take the diamond from them, superstitious bunch of natives. However, we only would have that first inaugural night to use the show as a sign from their displeased gods"

Lost in memories, she fell back on her bed and stared at the ceiling of the hut, made of dry leaves. "The appointed night came and my mother could hardly contain herself. We were waiting on a hill that overlooks the resort and the village when I had my first glimpse of what pure greed looks like"

* 2 *

"This is it, Lawhinie" My mother said to me rubbing her paws impatient. "The hour of the first eruption is getting near!" Her frenzied laugh made me arch my brows. "Hahahaha! I can almost feel that diamond in my paws!"

"Indeed, dear mother" I nodded calmly. "Just remember that this time half the diamond is mine… It was me who heard the humans talking about tonight's new event…"

"Yes, yes, don't get cocky, my girl. I already agreed to share our profits" My mother tried to sound reassuring. However, I wasn't buying it. Anyway, on the distance, the humans were dancing and partying at the resort's pool. When the fire acrobats came out to scene, we knew the time had come.

"Wait here and take care of our belongings, girl…" mother ordered. "I will teach these ignorant natives one or two things about women power"

But then I grabbed her paw and stopped her short. "Wait, I don't like this part of the plan… isn't the diamond too heavy for you to carry it alone?"

"Oh come on Lawhinie" My mother waved that off. "I'm going to scare them so badly, that they will gladly carry the diamond for me back here… Heck, they will even be happy to watch us leave with their treasure!"

"If you say so…" I let go her paw. In retrospective, I should have taken that overconfidence as a sign that things would go south but our time was running out quickly. My mother gave me a thumbs up and disappeared beneath the bushes.

Fifteen minutes later, the volcano erupted for first time in six hundred years. Or so it seemed. From my position, I watched how all the lights at the rodent village suddenly lit. I saw the shadows of the natives running scared for some moments and then gathered in front of the big hut that belonged to the king. A pair of minutes later, some drums were heard. Ceremonial tunes. They were taking the diamond out. The plan worked!

It worked and then crashed. On the other side of the hill, the human tourists were so excited by the thundering display that started to shout in unison "Again! Again!". I looked awestruck at the hotel manager ordering his technicians to make the volcano erupt again! The mountain exploded in a fiery demonstration that delighted the humans in such way that a third eruption was ordered immediately! Oh mother, if only you had foreseen how much American tourists love huge, multicolored explosions…

The drums at the village changed their tune. Now the air was filled with a raging sentiment. A series of torches were lit in the darkness and marched in the direction of the nearest beach. I decided to run and help my mother. Silly me, she already had a backup plan. A hidden boat was waiting for her behind some rocks. I arrived at the beach just in time to watch her load the big diamond aboard and set sails off this island.

"Mother, wait for me!" I yelled frantically.

"Sorry dear!" I managed to hear back from her. "But I've decided that this diamond will be my new daughter, hope you not mind!"

"Don't you dare leaving me here! I'll… I'll…" I tried to shout that I would kill her, but the words just didn't come out, instead, I just broke to cry. My own mother… can you believe it? To make things worse, the king and his warriors came out of the jungle armed to the teeth. I barely had time to hide behind a nearby rock.

The king cursed at my mother, and then gave orders to his soldiers. All of them took their bows out and ignited their arrows with fire from their torches. Then they aimed at my mother's boat. At the king's signal, a rain of fire descended towards her. Strangely enough, a sudden gust of wind helped all the arrows to reach their target. The last thing I heard from my mother was a mixed yell of terror and incredulity. Her wooden boat burned in a big flame and sank. At once, some natives entered the water not to save my mother, but to recover their sacred diamond.

"Mother!" I yelled at the scene unable to contain my… grief? Up to this day I don't know what it was. And obviously, the natives noticed me.

"That's the demon's daughter!" The king said pointing his spear to me. "Get her!"

I ran back to the jungle half-blinded with tears and pursued by the angered warriors and villagers, but fate wasn't done toying with me yet. Somehow I ran off the main road that goes to the human's buildings and went directly to the jungle. And somehow I stumbled and fell just next to… a pipe valve.

In less than a second, I remembered the designs the humans had for their fake volcano and, if I was correct, this emergency valve was used to liberate pressure and could fake a minor eruption. As you can imagine, I let the king and his warriors reach me and then I taught them who their god's chosen one was… And so I was saved, at least until you appeared!

* 3 *

Lawhinie finished her story and sat again on her bed. "Out of greed, a mother left his husband. Out of greed, a mother betrayed her daughter. Out of greed, a mother died. So, in comparison, I'm not that bad, chipmunk"

Chip Maplewood shook his head and glared at the mouse. "Not so bad? You tried to kill us all just to become queen of this island!"

"Oh, stop that! You are still alive, don't you? All's well that ends well"

"Hu-huh... I'd say you are a bit psycho" He commented, not without sarcasm.

"Nonsense!" She countered, and then closed her eyes to recite a strange sentence. "Greed is good, greed is right, greed works…"

"Greed clarifies" the detective chimed in. "Cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Yes, I also saw 'Wall Street'"

"Obviously" She observed. Then, a flirting smile appeared on her mouth. "Well, now that we have something in common, would you help me get out of this cell?"

Chip shook his head amused. "Sorry Lawhinie, but you'll be held here some weeks. Consider yourself lucky we convinced these natives to spare your life"

Lawhinie sighed resigned. "Fate still continues toying with me, it seems..." She whispered, and then jumped out the bed to confront her captor again. "Ok then...Is your curiosity satisfied now? Because I don't feel like talking to you anymore for free"

"Yes, thanks for your time" Chip answered grateful. "Tonight my friends and I are leaving to America" Chip noticed a glimpse of sadness in Lawhinie's eyes. It was there for less than a second and hidden right away under a wolfish stare. He got closer and patted the girl's shoulder. "However... If you ever learn about this virtue called 'generosity', look for us. I believe we can still be friends"

"Generosity? Ha! Not in this life!" Offended, the female mouse turned her back on him. She was good at maintaining facades, Chip concluded.

"Give it a try" The detective tipped his hat smiling. "Goodbye Lawhinie".

As he was walking out the guarded hut, Chip heard a faint answer from the girl who almost killed him the night before. "Goodbye Chip..."

 **The end**


	3. 50 Berkeley square

**50 Berkeley Square**

"And... here we are!" Announced Dale excited. "50 Berkeley square, place of the most haunted house in London!"

Chip, taciturn, quickly pointed at the title on top of the entrance door. "Dale, this isn't a house... its an office! You see there? 'Magg bros. Book dealers' "

"Huh?" The red-nosed chipmunk scratched his head. "But, but... the history channel said..."

"Oh come on! You drag me here for something you saw in History channel? What now? Do we wait for aliens to come out the roof of this... office?"

"Well, they mentioned that as a possible explanation"

"Wonderful..." Chip turned around and looked up at a nearby clock tower. It was past 11pm. "So, shall we go back to the hotel now?"

"What's the hurry?" Dale asked smugly. "Ah, maybe you are already scared of the big bad ghost?"

"Huh? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, you! Scared! Frightened!" Dale danced and giggled around his friend, knowing too well how to push his buttons.

"Grrrr... you dummy!" Chip ran to the first step of the entrance. From there, he turned to his friend. "I bet, if we go inside to take a look, you will be first one to run away of this place! After all, I'm well aware of your fear of books without pictures"

"Nonsense!" Dale shook his head nerviously. "I... I can read these too! Just... lets get in!"

* * *

After some effort to get to the upper floor, the duo get into the famous room. Strangely enough, it wasn't locked.

"It's so exciting!" Dale gingerly exclaimed upon setting foot inside. "Wait..."

"Umm... this room is empty, Dale"

"I can see that! No bed, no courtains, not even a table! This looks like..."

"An office's storage room" Chip declared, not amused at all.

"Ouuhhh! What have they done!"

Chip sighed and rubbed his temples. "Anyway, what's the deal with this room ? What happened here?"

"Ah! Glad you ask!" Dale's eyes sparkled with excitement again. "This room is haunted by 'it' !"

" 'It'? You mean the clown? You know it's only a movie, right?"

"No! Another 'it'! Here dwells a terrible ghost who appears at midnight and scares people to death! None of its victims were able to tell how the ghost looked like, they just died with expressions of utterly terror on their faces, so the people around believes 'it' is an absolutely horrible, frightening, devilish ghost! Bua ha ha ha!"

"Oh, brother..."

"Come on, since there is no bed here anymore, let's wait for midnight on the window's sill. And just for you to know... you are wrong, chipper."

"About what?" Asked Chip tilting his head.

"'It the clown' isn't just a movie. It's a movie based on a book"

"Which I guess you have never read..."

"What for? I've seen the movie 3 times already!"

* * *

Chip leaned on the window's wooden casing and looked outside. There, on the busy street, people were coming to and fro focused on their own problems, like finding opened stores at these late hours, or hunting for unocuppied cabs to take them home. Maybe, over these dark alleys further away, some crime was taking place right now, but he was stuck inside the empty storage room of a book dealer's office, taking care of his childish, inmature friend. Why? Because Gadget asked him... that's why.

The daring leader of the rescue rangers turned his eyes to Dale, who was gingerly waggling his feet on the sill's edge, waiting impatiently for the bells from the majestic Big Ben to sing the midnight tune. Yes, the red-nosed chipmunk was as eager as a kid waiting for Santa Claus. His friend, on the other side...

His friend rolled his eyes and looked again through the window. With some effort, Chip was able to make the lights of Picadilly Circus. That's where Gadget - along with Monterey Jack and Zipper – should be having fun at that precise moment. He could imagine them taking a ride on the Millenium wheel, whose lights were noticeable at the far distance. But Gadget asked him, no, she pleaded to him, to take care of Dale who was determined to visit this haunted place. This haunted... empty... room. "Well, Gadget asked me with these blue eyes of her... how could I say no? She knows I'm reliable... that's what she likes about me"

These thoughts were interrumpted by the bells calling midnight. The pair of chipmunks waited in the darkness in absolute silence for something, anything, to appear.

"Mmm... so..." Chip whispered with a smirk.

"Wait!" Dale raised his paw. "Maybe..."

(... Five minutes later...)

"Uhm..."

"Oughhh"

"darn... I could be at Picadilly circus right now..."

"Yeah, me too... hehehe" Dale giggled like a schoolgirl.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing... I just realized, Gadget loves me"

Chip couldn't help but raise his brow. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, when I told her I wanted to come here... she got very worried. I saw it in her blue eyes. That's why she asked you to accompany me. And you, you refused her so coldly she even had to beg you. All for my sake. Can you imagine? She beg to you for my sake! Nobody had ever done that before! She loves me, Chip! Hahaha!"

Chip's anger grew with each of Dale's words. "You... fool..." He thought glaring at the red-nosed chipmunk. "She doesn't... she wouldn't...". His lips curled with rage as he finished his sentence. "Use me?"

To make things worse, Dale turned to him with his satisfied, child-like toothy smile. An smile that made Chip snap. He stood on his feet with a jump, determined to make Dale pay dearly for that lie. However, on that split second when he decided to hurt his friend, he also felt a loud heartbeat pounding inside of him. Or it was from the wall behind him?

He stopped short. "What was that?" he whispered to himself, surprised. Then, on the corner of his eye, he noticed a light in the darkness.

Dale, who was still giggling, noticed it too. An orb of light coming out from a crevice in the wall and floating towards them slowly.

"C-Chip... Chip!"

"Dale... let's get out of here!"

Both chipmunks swung down the window and ran towards the opened door as fast as they could. It was useless. As soon as the duo got near enough, the door slammed shut. They were trapped. Their fur on edge, they dared to look back at the orb. No, it wasn't just an orb, it was a resplandecent being. A being that, once it diminished its light, totally looked like... Clarisse, their love from their former years as musicians.

"My, my, my" 'It' greeted them coldly. "Its been a while..."

Dale, who hid right behind Chip, swallowed hard before mumbling: "C-Clarisse... is that you?"

"I don't know" the female chipmunk replied with an mischivous smirk. "Does your Clarisse can do this?". She then put her paws around her neck, and with a crackling sound, detached her own head from the body. The very next second, the head threw herself violently at Chip and Dale with a maniac laugh and bared fangs.

"A ghost head!" Dale screamed, squeezing chip's shoulders. "It's coming to us! it's... it's..." Reaching his limit, the red-nosed chipmunk fainted and fell hard on the floor.

"Dale!" Chip turned around to check on his friend, but was stopped short by the floating head.

"Oh, so you are still standing, huh?" Clarisse met Chip eye-to-eye. "Should have known..." The apparition looked up and down at him, appraisingly. "Bad people as you don't get frightened so easily, right?"

"What? What are you talking about?" The black-nosed chipmunk took a step back, if only to avoid the gaze of the thing disguised as Clarisse.

"What I mean is... " The head again fluttered closer to Chip. This time, a long, serpent-like tongue came out her mouth and licked the chipmunk's cheek. "I will need to get serious to make you scream!"

Disgusted, Chip took another step back, this time stumbling over Dale and falling on the floor. When he opened his eyes again, there was another being next to him. A big and slender black cat.

The feline pounced at Chip right away, but for any answer, the chipmunk just grinded his teeth and jumped aside. The black cat kept attacking its prey without mercy, lashing its claws at him over and over. However, Chip's dexterity avoided the tragic outcome. After yet another series of unsucessful attacks, the cat slammed its fist on the wooden floor.

"Why aren't you scared!?" It demanded.

Chip draw a deep breath and released it before responding. "Dealing with cats... its too common for me. I know every move they make... _besides, I have to save Dale!_ "

"Acting tough again, huh? You think Im going to let you go like that?"

Then, like a scene from an horror movie, the wooden planks of the walls suddenly burst in fire.

"What?" Chip asked shocked, feelinf the sudden rise of heat. "What are you doing?".

A blink later, such cat wasn't around anymore. In its place, a grave voice echoed above the noise of burning wood. "Tough boy! You think I'll let you mock me? Come on, let's go back to heck, you and me! No, actually, the three of us, hahahaha!"

"As if!" Chip quickly looked for the exit door, as hot smoke filled his lungs, as brazens of fire burned his fur. It was real, the maniac ghost really dared to set the whole room on fire. And yet, Chip didn't allowed himself to despair. He focused on its promise, on the promise he made to his real love. Determined to fulfill it, he got ready to carry Dale out of that inferno.

Suddenly, some planks fell from the ceiling, blocking the exit door. The daring leader didn't even flinch. In fact, he grinned sarcastically.

"What's so funny?" The evil voice echoed again.

"Nothing _cough!_. Just watching my bad luck in action"

"You stupid rodent! You are caught in a house on fire, barely able to breath. The only exit is blocked and soon the whole building is going to collapse. How is that you are not scared!"

"I'm looking for a way out! No matter the situation, there is always an exit! In that way, I'm too busy to be scared!" With that sentence, Chip placed the unconcious Dale on his back and forced himself to walk as fast as he could.

The ghost, watching Chip's determined stare, growled in rage. This caused the whole room to tremble. And that caused a plank next to where Chip was standing to give up and sunk half way into the story below. Exactly what he was waiting to happen.

"A change of luck!" Chip shouted triumphant to the walls on fire. "I think I'll choose this exit" The daring leader notice how the voice fell silent as he took his grappling hook from the folds of his jacket. Trusting on his years of expertice, he ran down the plank, shot at the nearest lamp and... jumped.

The reckless action wasn't without consequences. Chip (grabbing Dale tightly) swung too hard and too fast. Chip's arm dislocated and, to make things worse, he was gonna crash through a window. On the last second he was able to protect Dale with his body and, letting go the rope, the duo was sent flying out the haunted office.

Next thing Chip knew, he was lying on the pavement with his whole body hurting. The "Magg bros. Book dealers" building was ablaze and the sirens of the firefighters could be heard nearby. And above all, with the corner of his watery eye, he saw Gadget running to him.

"Chip!" The blonde mouse knelt next to him, visibly worried.

"Gadget... I'm so glad..."

"Where is Dale!?"

"Huh? He... must be..." Chip tried to spot his friend, but his sight was too fuzzy and red stained. Even so, he was able to see the shocked, wide eyes of Gadget when she looked past him.

"Dale!" The inventor left Chip and ran to where Dale was, still uncouncious but in a better state than his friend. Soon the girl wiped a tear off her face. "Thank goodness, he is alive!"

"I saved him, just as I promise" Chip said half-whispering. The pain on his back was increasing and each draw of breath was a torture.

"Promise?" Gadget asked without glancing at Chip, she was busy checking on Dale. "What promise? I recall I had to beg you to come with him"

These cold words, spoken by the girl he loved most, hurted Chip even more than the glass cuts and the broken ribs. "I... am sorry" He lamented biting his lips, watching at Gadget gently caressing Dale's forefront.

After a moment of silence, Gadget finally looked at Chip over her shoulder. "Why are you sorry? You did exactly what you had to do. You rescued Dale and brought him back alive" The inventor gave him a toothy smile. "You brought him back to me"

Gadget turned her back on Chip and leaned to give Dale a kiss on his mouth, followed by a strong, passionate hug.

And Chip, with his body and heart shattered to pieces, finally let out a yell of pain and despair.

Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, he was again in an empty room.

It took him some seconds to recognize that he was lying, that he was unscathed, that it was almost dawn and that Dale was lying next to him. That they were totally alone and that the exit door was opened.

Trembling, mentally disturbed, by pure instinct he took Dale and carried him all the way out the room and out the building. All of this without saying a single word.

Actually, it was Dale who spoke once he noticed Chip was helping him go down the entrance steps.

"Huh? Are we finally outside?" he asked, opening his eyes.

"Dale!" Chip blinked out of his musings and helped his friend sit on the sidewalk. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, of course! That haunted house was extreme, huh?"

"Extreme?" Chip retorted back incensed. "We could have died there! You passed out!"

For any response, Dale just shrugged his shoulders. "I was faking it"

"What?"

"Well, we were in front of a class-A fright-inducing ghost. The best way to fend it off is by pretending you are scared to death. Then, after a while lying there... I guess I fell asleep"

Chip, falling flat on the ground, let out a loud, mad laughter that lasted several minutes.

 **Epilogue**

Chip and Dale were resting from their ordeal on the fresh grass of Berkeley square gardens. Across the street, the haunted office looked to them quite peaceful, even charming in the pale light of that early and cloudy morning. The duo even smirked when they noticed the first employee of "Magg bros. Book dealers" arrive at the house. Instead of running away in panic, that person lazily walk to the window Chip had dreamed to crash through and changed a plaque from "closed" to "open". A new, boring day was about to start for him and the rest of the clerks there.

"So..." Dale jumped on his feet and stretched his arms. "Shall we go back to the hotel now?"

"Yeah, let's go..." Chip stood at his own pace. "Gadget, Monty and Zipper are probably worried"

"Indeed! Why did we spent so much time resting here in the cold grass?"

"Sorry" Answered Chip taciturn, glancing back at the window on the upper room. "I just needed to come to terms with something..."

"With what?"

"None of your business!" Answered Chip now with his trademark determined stare. "Now come on, I said I would deliver you to Gadget in perfect conditions and I don't pretend to fail her!" Following these words, Chip gave Dale a harsh push forward.

"Hey, I'm not a package!"

"Maybe not, but back at the hotel there is someone waiting eagerly for you!"

 **The end**


	4. (Not) Alone in the dark

**(Not) Alone in the dark**

Her eyes met mine, for a fleeting second, just as I landed hard on the ground and bounced to land again on my face. Thrown out the bar by some thugs I had an argument with. The same thugs who were laughing at me and calling me names.

Across the street, she witnessed my failed attempt to stand up again and subsequent fall, wasted as I was by a big dosage of booze, grief and self-loathing. A pair of attempts later, I finally stood on my feet and got ready to fight. The hulking rats just offered a grin of contempt. I wasn't worth the trouble, I wasn't worth anything. One female mouse from inside the bar handed them my fedora, which was promptly thrown at my feet. They warned me to not come back again and turned around. The doors closed, the music started again followed by loud cheers and laughter from them patrons and I was left alone in the middle of this dark street.

Alone with her.

"What are you... looking at?" I remember I asked, both angered and embarrassed, all while struggling to put my hat on again. For any response, I only got an uncomfortable silence. Did she tilted her head at my rude manners?

"I-I'm sorry" I babbled as I walked unsteady towards her spot, next to that broken lamp post across the street. "I've had a bad day. I very bad day"

"Why?"

To be fair, my vision was clouded and I couldn't make much of the shape in the darkness, but I was sure her eyes, those eyes as bright as ignited coals, were fixed on me. I wasn't afraid nor disturbed, though, as her voice struck me as sweet, tender and genuinely concerned. I admit that for more than one second, I wished she were Gadget.

But she weren't her. She would never come to this god forsaken alley in the most poor and neglected part of the city. Not for me, at least.

"Please tell me" She insisted, as I got next to her and leaned on said lamp post.

"I just found... the love of my life prefer funny guys" I simply said, and then I slid down to the ground, falling on my knees and laughing. Laughing incoherently with my booze-smelling, ugly voice. "I got rejected, because I'm too serious. Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha! And, and... I've got a friend, one who makes her laugh better. I caught him, reciting jokes to her, and she... she was laughing like never before. She was having the time of her life holding hands with my friend"

By then, my hysteric laughter had transformed into a weep. One of impotence and defeat. "I could never make her laugh like that..." I said while smashing my fist on the pavement. "I can't make her as happy as Dale did. I'm... so dead inside"

Then I felt a warm paw on my cheek, just in time to wipe a tear running down. "No, you are not. Believe me, I can tell"

And just like that, I found myself lying on the cold sidewalk, receiving gentle kisses all over my face. I didn't make a move, just laid there below her. Now that I think of it, perhaps my lack of protest was what made her look up at me and confess. "I'm hungry, I need to eat... help me and I'll give you peace, agreed?"

Why did she asked for my consent? I don't know. Why did I nodded and whispered a slow 'yes'? I don't know either.

Perhaps I was also hungry? hungry for peace, for a way to stop the reverberating echo of my loved one's laughter, the joy I knew wasn't able to recreate? All night long, I had tried to drown these memories in alcohol, to no avail. My head was by then a whirlpool of conflicting feelings and an increasing headache. I wanted out, out of everything and everyone.

But my desire was for naught. On that moment, a motorcycle passed by us and illuminated her whole shape, this breaking the pleasant illusion of love and mercy. Because Its light fell on a voluptuous body covered in red scales, folded leathery wings, whipping tail and a head adorned with twisted horns. Long silky black hair that fell in waterfall braids, all the way down to her waist. But what I remember most, was a expression of disbelief in that face of yellow irises and serpentine tongue of hers as I woke up from my stupor and opened my mouth to scream in horror.

"W-Waaaahhh!" I yelled at top of my lungs and immediately crawled away from her. The shock, combined with the sudden stench of sulphur she emanated, dispelled any remain of alcoholic toxins from my system and replaced it with the terror that comes from being in front of an unholy beast not supposed to exist in the real world: a succubus.

I'd read about them, as I use to read every day about any topic, real or imaginary. Demons of lust who feeds on the life of victims overcome by their beauty. This one... oh this one was no exception. On one side, I was repugned and pale of horror by this apparition from hell. On the other side, I was strangely attracted by her features and attitude – a feeling that probably prevented me from shutting down and fall dead right there on the street.

"Damn, I was so close! That stupid human!" The demoness threw a killing stare at the random, unexpected rider while extending the wings to flap an inch above the ground. However, by drawing a deep breath in, she quickly regained her calm and turned back at me with a jesting wink and extended welcoming arms. "Anyway, lets finish our deal, shall we?"

"Deal? W-what deal?" I muttered as I tried to control my shaking legs.

"I told you, I'm hungry" She explained with that melodic voice that now seemed off coming from a serpent tongue. "I haven't eaten in days! And you, Chip Maplewood, agreed to be my dinner tonight"

"No! I didn't... did I?"

"Come here, I promise it won't hurt... actually, you are gonna love this!" Then, without any other warning, she dived in and bowled me over. However, instead of a bite, she wrapped her arms around me and planted a deep kiss on my mouth. Almost Immediately, my energy, my very life, started to drain out of me. The worse thing was, I barely cared about it. My mind got assaulted by a torrent of pleasant memories from times before and after the rescue rangers: birthday parties, schoolyard games with Dale, piano lessons, my first solved case, the day I met Gadget, Gadget's laugh...

"No!" I shrunk back upon experiencing that piece of memory.

"Ups!" She cut her kiss as well and looked at me with guilt. "Sorry about that, Chip"

"No! Let me go!" I yelled as I shook my head violently and pushed her away from me. I tried to run, but my body at once betrayed me. After the first sprint I got exhaust. As if I had just ran an entire mile. But desire to escape from that devil was greater than the numbness in my muscles. Adrenaline kicked in, and I was able to put a feet ahead of the other, back to that bar at the other side of the street.

"Ugh... help me!" I yelled, praying for my voice to overcome the loud music that had engulfed the place. As expected, it didn't. Nobody came out to rescue me.

Somehow, I managed to reach the sidewalk and my innate dexterity helped me climb the step from where I was thrown away mere minutes back. I then dared to look behind, and found the succubus walking slowly, wearily towards me.

"Don't... waste that energy!" She half demanded, half begged.

Of course, I didn't listen. Clenching my teeth, I managed to extend my arm towards the doorknob and braced myself to charge inside the place.

Suddenly, the door disappeared. It vanished along with the whole building and the whole street. Instead, the world was replaced by the ranger HQ. And I was lying on the couch flanked by Monty and Dale, my arm plastered and my head covered in bandages. Gadget was standing at our backs, lecturing us about the use of indiscriminate violence as first approach instead of last resort. She was right, at least from my point of view, and so I agreed to her proposal. As reward, she leaned over and...

In a blink, I came back to the dark alley and the bar, whose door was now at my back. I had turned around and walked back a pair of steps towards the succubus without even realizing it. She, as well, was getting closer to me, one heavy step after other. From her pained expression and poor balance I could tell that forging that illusion took a toll on her own life force.

I, as well, was on my limit.

"Wait..." She pleaded, and her lips pursed in an effort to cast another spell. "One more!"

Again, the darkness was washed away by another scene. This time the edge of a roof in the middle of a warm summer dawn. I soon got aware I was sit, staring down at some police officers taking a fat man and his monkey into custody.

"The carnival case..." I whispered to myself, recalling that vivid memory and what came next. Indeed, I glanced aside to find Gadget tenderly wrapping her arms around me. I never told anyone, but at that time I felt her heart racing wild for me, for my well being, for an omen that finally didn't came to be. And I considered myself the most loved chipmunk in the entire world.

But that was so long ago.

Memories of Dale with Gadget became real again in front of my eyes. The time she exerted herself caring for him on that south american jungle. That deep hot kiss she gave him the day we all pretended to be spies. Even that strange situation of the mixed bodies at Nimnul's lab . All of these scenes rained over me over and over until I wasn't able to stand it anymore.

Gadget's laugh over Dale's stupid jokes became the final blow that shattered the illusion in thousand of pieces, along with my reasons to live.

I opened my eyes, and realized I was knelt on the very street, in front of the succubus of long black hair and twisted horns who strangely enough, was caressing my paw with hers.

"I'm sorry... I couldn't give you better memories" She apologized while cupping my cheek on her other paw.

Weak as I was, I looked around. No one was coming to rescue me. I was done for. It was time to accept that the hunter had captured her prey.

"Not... your fault" I said while looking straight into these yellow irises and dared to smirk. "I've had a very bad day"

"It's about to end soon, dear" The succubus answered with a sad smile, and began to feed on what little energy was left in me. I just closed my eyes and let myself go.

Then, a small thought occurred to me while fading into unconsciousness, one that made me chuckle weakly. "People use to say..." I declared slowly. "That your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. Truer words were never spoken"

"What?" The succubus gave me an amused look. "What did you say? Pfft... Heh heh heh !"

I couldn't help but blink, perplexed at the sight of that demon girl bending over amused.

"Hah hah hah! I never... never thought of that before!" She turned away and covered her mouth in an effort to stop embarrassing herself. "Oh, Chip you are... you are funny!"

"I am?"

"Sure..." The succubus finally calmed herself and patted my shoulder. "And your mind is so sharp and full of interesting memories... If you had a little more confidence on yourself when talking to females, you could entertain your Gadget for hours without end"

"So..." I was almost afraid to ask. "Will you let me live?"

She, after a second of thoughtful consideration, nodded with a wide grin . "Yeah... as reward for making me laugh on this cold night. Besides, I've eaten enough to survive another day, if barely"

Just then, when I was about to join her smile, another motorcycle came around the corner at full speed. This one had powerful led lights mounted on, which together with the machine's booming noise froze us in our place. However, I could tell he was heading straight to me, and I had no strength left to move away.

But she had.

She pushed me away and was ran over in my place.

After some long seconds, the street got covered in darkness again, although my eyes didn't stop seeing sparkles all over the place. I had become temporarily blind by those illegal motorcycle lights. Meanwhile, I heard the succubus speak to me one last time, pain mixed into her hypnotic timbre.

"Ugh... I'm going to get admonished for this, heh heh... Well, I don't care. Chip, I think, I'm heading back to my circle in hell now... You, just think on what we talked, ok? Ouch... ok. Far-farewell, rescue ranger..."

"Wait!" I yelled while rubbing my eyes. "I don't even know your name!"

"Pfft! I'd have to... rip your tongue... so you could pronounce my name properly... Hah hah, just joking"

And after one last burst of laughter, everything became silence again. Or it should have, were not for the loud music at the bar above me. In my blind state, I had a sensation of being alone in the cold breeze of the night. The succubus's scent had all but disappeared from the place. I was safe.

It's now morning, and Monty just found me sleeping on the gutter some five minutes ago, The disappointment in his face is evident. I don't blame him, I look and smell like a die-hard drunkard. Now he is carrying me home on his back, and has stopped lecturing me. He had to, as soon as I began to recite without fail how many drunkards have ended as president of the United States. At the mention of the current person in office, he couldn't help but snort.

Yes, I'm a funny guy.

 **The end**


End file.
